Four Bristol firms have this week been celebrating winning the Queen’s Award for Enterprise, the UK’s most prestigious business accolade.
The four very different businesses – Ultrahaptics, Ndemic Creations, Thomas Ware & Sons and Census Group – are among 230 companies from across the UK to receive the award this year.
Winners have been recognised for their contribution to four main categories – international trade, innovation, sustainable development and promoting opportunity.
A record 152 companies, from industries including agricultural technology, innovative software and healthcare, received awards for international trade.
Ultrahaptics gained its Queen’s Award in the Innovation category for its unique technology that uses ultrasound to project the tactile sensations through the air onto a user’s hands. This enables them to ‘feel’ virtual buttons, get touch feedback for mid-air gestures, and interact with virtual objects.
The company use the technology in a range of applications – from automotive infotainment systems, to immersive experiences in augmented and virtual reality environments.
Global brands, including many household names such as Bosch, Dell, and Nike, have used the technology to develop public demonstrations and products showcasing the future of human-machine interaction.
The award recognises not only the innovative nature of the core technology, but also the team’s commitment to ongoing innovation. The company runs an ‘Academic Program’ which has subscribed more than 45 universities worldwide, including MIT, University of Oxford and University of Tokyo. The program gives academic teams easy access to the technology so that they may develop the field of haptics research, which refers to the sensation of touch.
CEO Steve Cliffe said: “I am enormously proud and humbled that Her Majesty The Queen has selected Ultrahaptics as a national leader in Innovation. This is an honour for the whole team of phenomenally creative, innovative and hardworking individuals and we very much look forward to celebrating this accolade together.”
Ndemic Creations, a leading, independent game studio dedicated to making intelligent, sophisticated and ultra-high quality strategy games, also collected an award for innovation.
The company achieved huge success with its first infectious strategy game Plague Inc – a global hit and described by the firm as one of the most significant mobile success stories ever with more than 100m players. It continues to top charts worldwide six years after initial release.
Founder James Vaughan said: “It’s wonderful to see Ndemic Creations recognised by Her Majesty the Queen for our work on Plague Inc. I originally made the game as a hobby back in 2011 and continue to be overwhelmed by all the love and support it gets from players worldwide.
“If that wasn’t exciting enough – we even get to go to Buckingham Palace for a royal reception to celebrate the Aaard in the summer.”
Thomas Ware & Sons collected its award for outstanding achievement in the category of International Trade.
The company said the award recognised its increasing success in exports, having radically grown its international trade within a few short years.
Each year the family firm processes between 15,000 and 20,000 hides, turning them into heavy leathers used in the shoe, equestrian, cricket, industrial, canine, belting and leather-goods trades. The products are sold all over the world – from Australia, Japan, China, Taiwan, India and Israel to the US, Canada and in Europe.
Managing director Alistair Brearley said: “Our success can be attributed to the hard work, dedication and continued support from all of our staff, customers, suppliers and overseas agents.”
He said his late father would be proud of the team carrying out his vision.
“I am overjoyed to say that, since his passing on New Year’s Day 2012, we have, as a team, taken giant strides. We now sell many more niche products and in to countries all over the globe. I can honestly say that I think that he would be proud of us all here in managing to carry out his vision and to see that rewarded with such an accolade.”
Sales development manager Barry Knight added: “We have worked extremely hard at developing the overseas markets and enjoyed – not just great success – but have developed a number of wonderful, strong relationships along the journey! This is only the start of things to come, we have many more leathers to develop and new markets to explore.”
Census Group (Bristol) won its award for promoting opportunity through social mobility – a new category introduced last year.
Census Group is a business services company committed to changing peoples lives by delivering sustainable, social and economic integration, to those furthest from the job market.
Its work and subsequent social outcomes are changing public perceptions about working with offenders in custody and on release to reduce re-offending rates.
It has struck strategic, long-term partnerships with the Ministry of Justice and organisations such as Interserve, Sodexo, Serco, Tempus Novo and Prosper4 in the justice sector.
